I had worn glasses since the 4th grade. It was obvious then, because I couldn't see the blackboard in class. For those of you who don't know what a blackboard is, ask your mother or grandmother. I wore thick glasses, because I was severely nearsighted and had an astigmatism. As time wore on, I had to get bifocals. That was hard to get used to, and I kept tripping on curbs and steps. But, things got worse. When I was walking and came to an intersection, I would see three cars instead of two, or two cars instead of one. Sometimes, I would have to guess which one was real to cross the street. When I was in church, I had to sit close to the front to be able to read the song lyrics on the big screens. I was going blind.
Because I didn't have any insurance, I needed to see an eye doctor who would take indigent patients. I looked around town, but I couldn't find any. I reached out to an old friend from church named Rick Milne. He was an ophthalmologist in Columbia with a thriving practice. I asked him who in Columbia did eye work on indigents? He said for me to come see him. I told him that I couldn't afford him. After all, they had commercials on TV. He said for me to come see him. So, I made an appointment and went to see Rick. He examined me and told me I had cataracts and needed surgery to remove them and put in new lenses. How much would that cost? He told me not to worry about it. He would do it for free. Tears flowed. I was given some eye drops to prepare for the upcoming surgery. I hated that.
My brother took me to the surgical center. The nurses prepared me. They were going to do one eye, and then the other in two weeks. I asked why not both eyes at the same time? They said because I might have an infection and would need one working eye at a time. Before the procedure began, Rick said a prayer over me to calm me down. It was beautiful. They gave me an anesthetic for my eye, but I was awake the entire time. The surgery went well. I was given a plastic patch to wear over my eye for a couple of nights, while I slept, to avoid me scratching my eyes. I also got more eye drops.
I noticed something amazing about the brain. When one eye is not good, and the other one is, the brain will recognize the good eye as to one to see through. I could see great out of my new eye, even though the cataracts hadn't been removed from the other eye. It was weird. I went back for the second eye procedure. It went well, since I knew what to expect. Rick said that I could throw away my old glasses, but I would need reading glasses for up close stuff. My brother took me to the dollar store afterwards, and I bought two pairs. I also had to start wearing sunglasses when outside during the day. There was a glare in my eyes. Rick said he had put UV lenses in my eyes, but I still needed the sunglasses. They make me look cool now.
As a result of this surgery, I found out some amazing things. Things that may sound trivial to some. I could see leaves on trees. I discovered that there were place names on TV weather maps. And, I didn't have to sit up front at church. I also found that I was reaching for nonexistent glasses on my bedside table, when I woke up in the morning. That took time to get over it. I found out later that Rick did mission work for those who could not afford eye surgery. Otherwise, the cost would have been around $4000. Rick passed away a few years later from cancer. I may have been one of his last patients, but he was such a blessing to me. I was blind, but now I see.
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